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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pop · shower · wake · stand · cell · spring · can · bat

  1. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. pop — music
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. wake — a trail
  6. spring — of water
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. cell — in biology
  9. pop — soda
  10. shower — rain
  11. spring — a coil
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. shower — to wash
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. can — a tin
  16. cell — a phone
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bat — the animal
  19. spring — the season
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. can — to be able to
  22. can — a tin
  23. pop — to visit
  24. stand — to bear

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com